Last year’s most intoxicating horse racing story not involving American Pharoah was that of the perfectly named and impossibly fast colt, Runhappy. As the 3-year-old piled up wins and smashed track records, the team of humans around the eventual Breeders’ Cup champion staged an all out soap opera. Runhappy’s trainer was a literal unknown named Maria Borell. Young, gregarious and social media savvy, Borell charmed the racing world with snuggly selfies with her quirky and unbeatable colt.

Prior to landing Runhappy in early 2015, Borell had never saddled a winning horse. By year’s end, she was a Breeders’ Cup winning trainer of an Eclipse Award winning horse. Her career progression skipped about two decades of grind. She had been plucked from absolute obscurity and handed the keys to a bona fide superstar. But for her part, she appeared as shocked and grateful as anyone.

Borell garnered plenty of attention and admiration with photos like this on her now deleted social media accounts.

Borell garnered plenty of attention and admiration with photos like this on her now deleted social media accounts.

It was nothing short of a fairytale. A Hallmark Channel family original. A breath of good cheer in an industry of shadows.

Then, less than 24 hours after this fairytale reached its zenith, it began to crumble.

Runhappy’s owner, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale sent shockwaves through the racing world when less than 24 hours after Runhappy’s Breeders’ Cup triumph, he fired Borell. It seemed like the ultimate slap in the face to the young Borell, who quickly sued McIngvale for lost wages.

It was a bad look, to say the least, and McIngvale found himself squarely in the industry’s crosshairs. After all, the man had earned reputation as an unapologetic hardliner. McIngvale’s Gallery Racing had gone through dozens of trainers over the years, hiring and firing horsemen as if adding and removing blinkers.

The feel-good fairytale was abruptly over. Borell’s saga however, was only beginning.

Rumors began leaking out on social media last fall painting a much different version of Maria Borell then the one we got to know in the weeks before the Breeders’ Cup. In late May, USRacing.com published a detailed report on Borell, alleging a pattern of misconduct ranging from failure to pay rent to full on animal neglect. According to the story, Borell leased space at three Central Kentucky farms between 2010 to the present, leaving a trail of property destruction, back payments and animal neglect at each stop.

A follow up story on USRacing.com last week included more evidence of animal neglect from yet another Central Kentucky horse farm leased under the names of Maria Borell and her father Charles Borell:

Armed with a group of friends to help document the conditions of the horses, ten days before the Belmont Stakes, Summerville went to the Mercer county property and found the horses in worse shape than ever. He and his group documented several horses of all ages with open sores all over their bodies, as well as yearlings not yet weaned and nearly every one hadn’t had blacksmith attention in months. Additionally, the horses were drinking unclean water from filthy buckets and troughs and many were housed in paddocks with broken fences that had yet to be repaired.

Monday, The Paulick Report verified 43 horses on the farm currently being leased by the Borells, including a number of breeds from thoroughbreds to mustangs. Some of the horses appeared to be in fine condition, while others were clearly in need of immediate medical attention. Two of those are ex-racehorses owned by Borell, including Z Camelot, who was bred and initially campaigned by Ahmed Zayat, famously the breeder and owner of American Pharoah. Another horse named Silver Cliff is a 14-year-old gelding by Silver Charm whom Borell purchased in 2011.

The piling accusations, coupled with the disturbing photo and video evidence, ignited a social media firestorm in the international equine community. The uproar sent various industry stakeholders both big and small into action in the face of widely perceived inaction by state and local authorities.

One of the first to take action was local equestrian Carleigh Fedorka, who hitched up her trailer and drove down to the farm Tuesday morning in the hopes of taking as many horses off the farm as possible.

“This morning we were given permission to take Z Camelot and Silver Cliff off of the property,” Fedorka said. “Because they were both identifiable via tattoo, as well as in the worst condition, they were allowed to leave in order to receive medical attention. They will receive this attention at a local rescue facility. In addition, two mares were released to the same facility to receive care, and hopefully the two mares and foals will be sent to the same rescue in the next few days to be assessed as well.”

As local authorities continue to wade through a tangled mess of figuring out which horses belong to whom while operating within Kentucky’s lackluster animal cruelty laws, Fedorka wants to be sure the tidal wave of emotion is directed in the right place.

“The volunteers on the farm have done a tremendous job with little to no resources and are now getting the resources needed to care for the number of horses there,” she said. “If anyone feels the need to assist this situation, what we need is supplies and volunteers who are willing to do manual labor–muck stalks, scrub buckets, etc.”

Although no formal charges have been filed and all allegations are still just that, it is safe to say Borell has left an undeniable trail of stink in her short career. Just this week she settled a lawsuit with Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital for non-payment of bills totaling over $15,000.

Sometimes horse owners take on more than they are able to support, and good intentions can quickly dissolve into the stark reality of unpaid bills and lack of resources. But Borell’s pattern of behavior suggests something much more sinister and brazen. Why anyone in such financial straits would continue to stockpile horses is inexplicable. Borell has not been seen in Kentucky in months and calls to her phone have gone unanswered. Someone needs to be held accountable and at some point we can only hope she emerges from the shadows and faces these allegations with the willingness she displayed as the toast of the racing world.